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Spit It Out! Top Juicy Facts About Spit

added on: March 18, 2015 | By: Dr. Bilal Saib

We don’t literally mean spit it out, whatever it may be. In fact, it’s never really polite to spit in public (or while reading blogs online). What we really mean is that despite how gross spit may seem, it’s actually some pretty cool stuff. All of us at my dental office in Chapel Hill want to ‘spit out’ some of the top fun facts we know about saliva.

Be The Match

Many people every year are diagnosed with a blood cancer. A lot of times, it’s a child. Your spit could actually help. BeTheMatch.org encourages people to register to be a bone marrow donor by simply swabbing your cheek. A bone marrow match can’t always be found for someone with blood cancer, so this organization helps a lot to increase the number of possible donors. Your spit could literally help save a life.

“I Produce How Much Spit a Day? Gross!”

The average person produces about one or two quarts of spit every, single day. That’s a lot of spit! And while your initial reaction may be, “Ewww!” or “Gross!,” let’s talk about why this is a good thing.

Spit is crucial for a healthy and decay-free mouth. Saliva helps rinse away any lingering food particles, neutralizes acids, and keeps the tooth enamel strong. It also helps to preserve the soft and hard tissues in the mouth. When there isn’t enough spit flowing in the mouth, decay and other oral infections can occur. Trust us, all that spit is actually keeping you healthy!

CSI: Saliva

Research conducted at UCLA has led to even more advancements in our ability to put an age to criminals by using, you guessed it, spit. Our saliva contains DNA, and over time, the DNA in the saliva changes. Essentially, this means that science and spit can help predict a person’s age to within five years. Why five years? Because the DNA breakdown isn’t necessarily an indicator of true age, but of what’s called biological age.

This breakthrough could help doctors too. If they know your biological age, they’ll have a better idea of how old you really are and can better decide what’s the most important treatment or what you’re more at risk for.

Yes, spit can be gross, but it can also be extremely helpful at keeping your mouth healthy and cavity free. Another thing that helps with both? Regular visits to my Chapel Hill dental office. If it’s been awhile since you’ve seen a dentist, give us call! We welcome you, and your spit (it is part of what we do), any time!